Apple Data Engineer interview questions

Two phone screens that contains behavior questions, past project, Python & SQL. Python is leetcode medium. I was asked a questions about BFS. SQL is also leetcode medium and involves some joins.

previously interviewed for a Software Data Engineer role within Apple Media Products, with a focus on distributed systems, large-scale data processing, and system design. The interview process included: System Design & Architecture: Discussed approaches for building scalable data pipelines, optimizing query performance, and ensuring reliability in distributed systems. SQL & Data Processing: Solved advanced SQL problems involving multi-table joins, aggregations, and window functions, optimized for performance. Python & Backend Coding: Implemented algorithms and debugging exercises to handle large datasets and edge cases efficiently. Applied ML Context: Addressed how to integrate data engineering with machine learning workflows to support personalized recommendations and analytics. From this experience, I gained insight into Apple’s high expectations for code efficiency, clarity in system design communication, and the ability to bridge backend engineering with data-driven decision-making.